Engineering Richards Bay Melomed Hospital

KwaZulu-Natal’s newest private hospital, the Richards Bay Melomed Hospital, is set to be a state-of-the-art healthcare facility.

Covering an area of 10,000m² the new hospital will provide 100 beds to serve what is a remote town in the region, where there are currently very few local hospitals.

End-to-end support

Royal HaskoningDHV was appointed to provide all wet services to the new private hospital covering design, project management and contract supervision. Our scope included the sizing calculations for new heat pumps and hot and cold water storage vessels, all ensuring optimum sustainability for the hospital.

Our team also supported the tender process, including reviewing contractors’ drawings, commissioning and ultimately handing over the project to the client.

The hot water supply for the hospital is generated by a hot water plant room which is located in the third floor roof level, and houses the heat pumps, hot water circulatory pumps and hot water storage vessels.

A sustainable approach

Energy saving regulations in South Africa state that at least 50% of the annual average water heating requirements should be provided by other means, other that electrical resistance heating. In our design heat pumps have been utilised. These extract heat from the ambient air, and use this to heat up the water in the storage vessels by means of a heat exchanger, thereby offering a sustainable option to the client.

Throughout the project we paid particular attention to specialist areas of the hospital such as the water quality for the dialysis machines. We ensured that this would function according to the stringent quality limits prescribed by ISO 13959 standards, the South African Renal Society, and other international bodies such as the UK Renal Association, to ensure a good patient experience throughout the building.

The construction of the hospital will occur in two phases, the first of which is due to be complete by the end of 2016, set to open its doors in March 2017. The second, future phase of construction will mean that the hospital can accommodate a total of 200 beds. Royal HaskoningDHV will be providing the wet services design and construction supervision.